The NYPD’s guidelines for videotaping large-scale events were laid out in a federal court ruling 15 years ago after a lawsuit accused the cops of excessive surveillance.

The Handschu Agreement was put in place in 1985, more than a decade after Black Panther Party members claimed that cops had violated their rights by monitoring their political activities.

Cops must have one of three reasons to tape a large-scale event, such as the fracas surrounding Patrick Dorismond’s funeral last month, said Sgt. Andrew McInnis, a police spokesman. The criteria are:

* If there’s a need to create file footage for training material. In those cases, the video is shot by the Police Academy.

* If there’s a belief that criminal activity and/or arrests will occur.

* If police brass need to assess how they’re handling a developing crowd situation and to review later the cops’ performance.

The surveillance tapes are supposed to be panoramic views of the crowd that illustrate police tactics – not random close-up shots of demonstrators, unless someone is clearly about to commit a crime.

Also, the cameras aren’t supposed to be running nonstop. The ranking officer is supposed to tell the camera operator what to film, and when.

Recordings of rallies and demonstrations are made by the Police Department’s Technical Assistance and Response Unit.

The chief of department’s office holds on to the tapes. If there was no crime recorded, they’re supposed to be destroyed. But if a recorded incident might wind up debated in court, the NYPD hangs on to the tape.

Under Handschu, not every event can be automatically monitored by video.

The agreement – named for lawyer Barbara Handschu, who handled the Panther suit as it wound its way through the courts for 14 years – created the three-member Handschu Authority, which decides what events get filmed.

The authority is made up of the police commissioner, a deputy commissioner and a civilian – normally a lawyer.